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'The feasibility is enabled by three
key developments: the ability to discover and characterize an adequate
number of sufficiently small near-Earth asteroids for capture and
return; the ability to implement sufficiently powerful solar electric
propulsion systems to enable transportation of the captured asteroid; and the
proposed human presence in cislunar space in the 2020s enabling
exploration and exploitation of the returned asteroid.

Capturing an asteroid would also open up the possibility of mining it for its mineral wealth. This picture shows Asteroid 87 Sylvia, with its two "moonlets" Romulus and Remus which was discovered in 1866

Nasa declined to comment on the project
because it said it was in negotiations with the White House, but it is
believed that technology would make it possible within 10-12 years.

The technology would also open up the possibility of mining other asteroids for their metals and minerals.

Some are full of iron which could be used for in the making of new space stations, others are made up of water which could be broken down into hydrogen and oxygen to make fuel.

Earlier this year Planetary Resources, a company based in Seattle with billionaires including former US presidential candidate Ross Perot and Google's Eric Schmidt and Larry Page among its investors, said it plans to mine 'near Earth asteroids' within 10 years.

The project would coincide the
Osiris-Rex project that in 2016 will see a spacecraft visit an asteroid
called 1999 RQ36 and take samples of it back to Earth.

The captured asteroid could be transformed into a space station for astronauts to refuel at on their way to Mars (pictured)

It is hoped that the project will
increase our understanding of asteroids, and even shed new light on the
origin of life on Earth.

The 1999 RQ36 is the most accessible organic-rich
asteroid from the early solar system, its average diameter is
approximately 1,600 feet or about the size of four football fields.

The
fact the asteroid is rich in
carbon, a key element in organic molecules necessary for life, means
it could explain more about the building blocks of life on our own
planet.

US space agency NASA has invited students from around the world to come up with a better name for the 1999 RQ36

A panel will review the proposed asteroid names and the International Astronomical Union Committee for Small-Body Nomenclature will approve the winning name.

'Our mission will be focused on this asteroid for more than a decade," said Dante Lauretta, principal investigator for the mission at the University of Arizona.

'We look forward to having a name that is easier to say than repeated manned missions and that the undertaking would help build up experience for future jaunts into space.

Should any further space exploration take place, there's a good chance that the astronauts will wear the new suit unveiled last week on the photo-sharing website Flickr.

Its design has led to parallels being drawn with the suit worn by Buzz Lightyear, the space ranger action figure.

A large hemispherical transparent
dome covering the wearer's head also looks remarkably similar to that
worn by Buzz - although the latest pictures do not make clear if Nasa's
version comes pre-programmed catchphrases.

How Nasa's suit matches up to the Star Command model: The latest pictures do not make clear if Nasa's version comes pre-programmed catchphrases - but it otherwise looks remarkably similar

The
main advance in Nasa's rather more primitive effort is that it will
have an entry point at the rear to make it easier to don than previous
suits.

Astronauts will be
able to climb into it as quickly as you see in films, and not take an
hour as they do now. The new suit will also effectively be its own
airlock, dispensing with the need to spend time getting the pressure
right.

There will be better bearings on the
legs, ankles, hips and waist to help astronauts move more naturally
whilst a urethane-coated nylon and polyester layers control the pressure
more efficiently.

The 'Z-1 Prototype
Spacesuit and Portable Life Support System (PLSS) 2.0', to give it its
full title, will hopefully be ready in the next couple of years.